By Thuanny Vieira

Over 160 women ranchers and farmers from the area around Lake Tucuruí in Pará, Brazil, gathered for the first time to share and learn from their joint experiences. The gathering reflects the growing power and representation of women in the agricultural sector in this Amazon state.

“Women have an innovative and sustainable vision for livestock and agricultural production, they have the power of communication, sustainability, and training and seek development actions with a feminine vision for agribusiness production; we have an innovative and sustainable vision,” said Andreza Reis, the president of the Tucuruí Agricultural Women's Commission, the event organizer. “That's why we have to join the union with all of our rural producer friends here.” 

The group covered topics like the challenges women face in agribusiness and the importance of female action for more sustainable, productive activities in this field. 

In addition to exchanging experiences and networking opportunities, the attendees learned about the Jurisdictional REDD+ Program of the State of Pará, an effort to support sustainable rural development in the state. Earth Innovation Institute is supporting the development of the plan in partnership with the Government of Pará and other collaborators. 

The input and opinions of rural producers, like the women in Lake Tucuruí, are critical for shaping a potential incentive program to promote emissions reductions and strengthen sustainable agricultural production financed by revenue from the sale of carbon credits.

Andreza Reis highlighted the importance of the meeting and the fundamental role of women in sustainability:

“Our first meeting of Women from the region of Lake Tucuruí is to bring together all women producers, from small to large producers, in the city of Tucuruí and other regions of Pará, to unite voices in favor of agribusiness in our state. The union and women's empowerment is fundamental to the sustainability of our agribusiness.”

Facilitating female participation in the sustainable rural production agenda is one of the pillars of the Earth Innovation Institute (EII) and the Amazônia Connect program (a 5-year partnership to promote sustainable rural development and conservation), and is fundamental to the development of jurisdictional REDD+ programs. 

“The Jurisdictional REDD+ program is a public policy that will attract resources that the government can invest in the rural sector, so our participation is essential to point out to the government, to the public policy makers policies in the State of Pará, where the need is greatest,” said Cristina Malcher, president of the Women in Agriculture Commission of the National Agriculture Council (CNA) and the Pará State Agriculture Federation (FAEPA).

EII's regional program coordinator Lucélia Avi added the importance of women’s contributions: “Participating in meetings with women from the productive sector is essential, as most of our projects in Brazil seek to increase female participation in the design of public policies.”

“This event is especially important because it brings together a group of women from a region focused on agribusiness and promoting more sustainable production, taking a leading role in these issues. Nothing could be more coherent than supporting initiatives like this,” Avi added. 

The event was also attended by the region's rural unions, financial institutions, Sistema S¹ and EII partners,from  Produzindo Certo, who presented their “Valorizar para Transformar” (Value to Transform) program, aimed at getting the consumer market to recognize the quality and sustainability of livestock farming in Pará.

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¹The "Sistema S" is composed of the following institutions: National Service for Commercial Learning (Senac), National Service for Industrial Learning (Senai), National Service for Rural Learning (Senar), Social Service of Commerce (Sesc), Social Service of Industry (Sesi), and the Brazilian Service of Support for Micro and Small Enterprises (Sebrae).

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The action is part of Amazônia Connect, an initiative of USAID, Solidarity Network, Earth Innovation Institute, National Wildlife Federation and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In collaboration with USAID's Amazon Regional Environment Program, rural producers, companies, local governments and financial institutions, Amazonia Connect will promote and expand the adoption of low-carbon agriculture and sustainable commodity production in Brazil, Colombia and Peru.